Shallow Graves
by Pretty Phenomenal
Summary: Ravyn Storm [OC] is following her dream of becoming a pro wrestler. Follow her story through the indies and NXT where she meets Corey Graves. This story is a prequel to "Life is Like Tetris". Rated M for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**This story is a prequel to my other story "Life is Like Tetris". This one covers Ravyn's early years up through her time in NXT. So if you enjoyed that one, please give this one a try! And if you haven't tried that one yet, consider it :)**

"Okay guys, good class," Lance Evers, former ECW, WCW and WWE star, says clapping his hands as he ends the days second training session at Storm Wrestling Academy. "I'll see you all back here tomorrow."

Eighteen year old Ravyn Storm pulls her long purple hair from its hair tie and shakes it out. Her thick mop of tresses cascades around her shoulders like a full lions mane. One hand reaches for her water bottle while the other attempts to control the wild locks. She hits the locker room and grabs her gym bag. On her way back through the concrete warehouse style building Lance waves her over.

"We've got a handful of new students starting tomorrow," the head trainer tells her. "Can I count on you to buddy up with one of them? Show them around?"

The young girl nods excitedly, "Sure Lance. I'll come early to get them settled."

"Knew I could count on you," Lance beams like a proud father as he watches Ravyn leave the building for the day.

Two months into her official training at Storm Wrestling Academy Ravyn is excelling in her classes. She spends every moment, that Lance will allow, at the school. Training in the ring and using the basic gym equipment. Over the last few months she's gained muscles and stamina that she hadn't had before. The first week was particularly hard, but now her body had begun to grow accustomed to the abuse.

The sun is going down as she leaves the school and climbs into her little car. She stops at the one small gas station between the school and her apartment building to stock up on protein bars and ramen soups. She waves a greeting to the shop owner as the young man at the counter rings her out. He places her items in a bag and soon she's back in the car on her way to her temporary home. Or is it her permanent home now?

The moment she turned sixteen Ravyn left her parents home in pursuit of her professional wrestling dream. Though at such a young age no one would even consider training her. She bounced around small towns in Ontario, selling shirts or tickets at the door for local promotions, before deciding that she needed to be in Calgary. Any aspiring wrestler knew that Calgary was the unofficial home of professional wrestling. What had once been the home of the world famous Hart Family now houses the Storm Wrestling Academy. A prestigious wrestling school run by Lance Evers, formerly Lance Storm, who has competed all over the world. Most famously in all three of the biggest promotions in the United States.

She pulls into the run down apartment building that she now calls home and parks her car. Trudging up two flights of stairs she's exhausted by the time she manages to unlock the door. She drops the bag of gas station goodies on the corner of the kitchen counter and heads to the bathroom to start the shower. Once she's clean she makes the mistake of sitting on her bed, which is just a stained mattress on the floor of the single bedroom apartment. The brief moment of downtime is just enough for her to close her eyes and fall asleep. Too tired to even eat dinner.

The next morning Ravyn awakes to one of her neighbors slamming their apartment door and stomping down the hallway to the stairwell. She groans and throws her feet over the edge of the bed, knowing that she won't be able to fall back asleep with the buildings paper thin walls. The bag from the gas station calls her name and soon she's fishing out a protein bar for breakfast. When her meal is settled she gets dressed, stuffs some clean clothes in her gym bag and heads off to Storm Wrestling Academy. Class doesn't start for an hour, but that gives her time to get some solid stretching in.

She waves to Lance and his assistant Rachel as she enters the large cement building. Ravyn walks determinedly across the floor to the women's locker room and tosses her bag into her usual locker, number seventeen. Not quite ready to socialize she pops her earbuds in and plugs them into her iPod. Her workout starts with some warmup cardio and evolves into some light weight training. Worrying more about form than personal records she sets herself up in front of the mirrored wall across from the ring. As she works out she sees some new faces enter the building. They're quickly brought into the office to handle their paperwork. Three current students enter the school shortly after, waving to Ravyn on their way to the men's locker room. She sees Lance look her way and tap his wrist where his watch would be, indicating it was almost time for class to start.

She finishes her set and rolls into the ring after taking a long drink from her nearly shattered old thermos. The three other guys in the class join her in the ring while the new guys sit in the chairs at ringside to observe the first class of the day. Lance introduces the two new students to everyone else and pairs them off with some of the guys in the ring. Ravyn looks at him questioningly. He holds up a hand and she can hear him in her head telling her to hold her horses and be patient. Class begins and she soon forgets about it as they're put to work.

The door opens while Lance has them doing bump drills. Rachel pulls the visitor into the office before Ravyn can get her eyes on them. A short while later a pretty redheaded girl emerges from the office with Rachel and takes a seat amongst the other new students. The first session of the day comes to an end forty minutes later. Sweaty and tired, Ravyn bends over to try and catch her breath. When she stands back up Lance calls her over to the ropes in front of where the new students are sitting.

"Ravyn, I haven't forgotten about you," he says seriously. "This is your new training partner, Jenny. Jenny how was that drive?"

The redhead laughs, "Very long. I only just got in and drove straight here."

Ravyn, instantly on the defensive by the appearance of another female student, steps through the ropes and hops down to the floor, "Come on. I'll show you where our locker room is. You can get changed for the afternoon session before we have lunch." Ravyn takes off towards the locker room, not waiting for the redhead to follow. Footsteps fall into place behind her as Jenny jogs to catch up.

"Are we the only female students?" The new girl asks when she sees the almost empty locker room.

"Yep," Ravyn confirms with a twinge of animosity in her voice. "It's been just me for the last two months. Now it's just us.. For now anyways."

Jenny digs through her bag, not looking up at the purple haired girl, "Yeah. I was the only girl at my last place. At least here they will train you. I had to scratch and claw to get any time in the ring. I'm looking forward to finally getting some good training."

Ravyn, realizing she sounds like a complete jerk, unfolds her arms. "Well, you'll get plenty of that here. Lance is the best. He's honest to a fault, he'll make sure you know exactly what he wants from you," she looks at her locker as her stomach grumbles. Two steps across the floor and she grabs a power bar and takes a bite. "You're gonna wanna eat sooner than later if you're hungry. Otherwise you'll puke. The afternoon session is usually blow up drills."

"I'm good, but thanks," the new girl explains. "I grabbed something on the road while I was driving in."

Ravyn nods as she finishes her protein bar, "So where are you from? Lance said something about a long drive."

"I'm from Kansas," Jenny tells her. "It was a twenty-four hour drive."

"That's a hell of a drive," Ravyn doesn't bother to mention her own long drive, just attempts to stay cordial. "First time in Canada?"

Jenny laughs, "First time in anywhere that isn't Kansas or Missouri."

Ravyn cracks a smile for the first time since meeting the redhead, "Well, let me at least give you the tour of the building before we start round two."

Ravyn leads the new girl on a tour of the school, showing her the locations of everything she would need. Two small locker rooms are located on the west wall. The office and storage room are on the eastern wall, with some gym equipment in front of them. The south wall is mirrored and houses the racks of free weights where Ravyn had been working out earlier. The ring takes up most of the north wall with a smattering of steel chairs between the free weights and locker rooms.

Shortly after the tour ends Lance calls everyone to ringside and explains their next round of drills. He starts by sending everyone on a run. Five laps around the outside of the industrial park style complex has everyone sucking wind before they even get back inside. Lance has one of his older students demonstrate their next drill before having everyone take turns executing it on their own. One hour and four drills later both of the new male students have quit after puking from over exertion. Ravyn snickers to herself, always amused when the newbies can't hack it. But much to her chagrin Jenny has endured her first day. The girls hit the showers, too beat to really chat at all. Ravyn grabs her bag and waves goodbye to Lance on her way out to her car.

The next few weeks are much of the same. Class every day, twice a day. Though try as she might Ravyn can't seem to beat Jenny to the school in the mornings. Everyday when the purple haired girl pulls in Jenny's car is already there in the parking lot. Taunting her. Last week Lance had even mentioned it. Noting how Ravyn hasn't been the first one at the school every day lately. Which only makes her disdain of the new girl even worse.

One night after a particularly grueling class Ravyn exits the building. As the last one out the door for the evening she locks the heavy glass door behind herself. She pauses for a second when she turns towards her car and sees Jenny's tucked into the far corner of the lot. Ravyn moves quietly to her own vehicle, assuming Jenny has gone out with some of the guys from class or something. As she inserts her key into the door she sees Jenny's head pop up in the driver's window. Ravyn stands still for a moment, hoping that Jenny hasn't seen her. The redhead's figure disappears seconds after she accidentally makes eye contact with Ravyn. Striding cautiously across the small lot Ravyn approaches Jenny's car. As she nears she notices that the vehicle seems to be packed with the American girl's every worldly possession. Immediately feeling sorry for the redhead she waves meekly at the girl.

Jenny rolls down her manual window sheepishly, "Um.. Hi..."

"Hey.. You uh.. Okay? Car broke down?" Ravyn then half jokingly asks, "Or are you sleeping here?" Jenny blushes and looks down at the blanket in her lap, not saying a word. Ravyn's eyes go wide as she realizes what's going on. "Well, that explains a lot. Come on. Follow me to my place. It's not much, but I've got a couch you can crash on."

"Are you sure?" Jenny asks. "I don't want to impose on you or anything."

"Maybe it's the Canadian in me... But I can't let you stay in this shitty parking lot," Ravyn sighs. "At least my apartment has running water and a kitchen."

Jenny smiles slightly, though she's obviously still embarrassed, "I appreciate it. Thank you."

Ravyn walks back to her car and starts it up. Driving slowly she lets the other girl follow her back to her tiny apartment.


	2. Chapter 2

Ravyn stops at the local fast food joint and splurges on two orders of French fries before bringing Jenny back to her place. The two girls sit in the almost empty living room awkwardly at first. But when they actually start talking they become instant friends. Jenny ends up moving into Ravyn's one bedroom apartment for the duration of her time in Canada. Ravyn helps her gain temporary citizenship so that the redhead can get a part time job while they're training. A few weeks later the girls graduate from Storm Wrestling Academy but continue to train with Lance while working the independents.

The two of them travel all over Canada and parts of the United States trying to make names for themselves. Though they don't make a ton of money some promoters begin to cover their travel expenses, which is a welcomed change. They rarely get booked without one another, except the handful of times Ravyn takes an overseas booking, because JJ (her new nickname for Jenny James) doesn't have an actual passport.

They even go on something the Canadians call a "death tour", where wrestlers drive vans carrying themselves and the ring trucks across the frozen lakes of the northern territories. After a particularly rough death tour they trudge into the Storm Wrestling Academy to find Lance on the phone in his office. He waves them in and finishes up his conversation. The girls sink into the two chairs opposite their trainer.

"So you two survived yet another death tour," Lance chuckles. "How are you feeling?"

Ravyn just groans.

"I'm still trying to thaw out," JJ admits.

"Well then! Good news... How would you two like to go to sunny Orlando, Florida?" Lance asks the duo while putting a faux dramatic emphasis on the city and state like a game show host.

Ravyn wrinkles her nose at the thought, "Well, that's definitely warmer than here... What promotion?" JJ nods at the thought of warming up some.

"So, it's not an Indy booking. It's a tryout," Lance informs them.

"What, is Disney World doing wrestling shows now?" JJ smirks.

Lance grins, "Not quite. So you guys have heard of FCW right?"

Ravyn nods as things slowly start to click for her, "Florida Championship Wrestling. Yeah.. Doesn't..."

JJ interrupts her thought process, "The developmental for WWE!?"

"They're changing the name and rebranding," Lance tells them. "And since they're looking for talent to fill the roster for that new brand they called me to see if I had any suggestions. I may have thrown your names around."

Ravyn is stunned into silence.

"You did not..." JJ stammers with disbelief.

"You mean... We're going to WWE for a tryout!?" The reaction finally sweeps over Ravyn.

"That's exactly what I mean," Lance says bluntly. "Now it won't be fun. It's four days of intense training. And then they'll take a week or two to decide if you've got what it takes."

JJ, still in complete shock starts to ramble, "I... This.. Wow.."

"When do we go?" Ravyn asks.

"Two weeks," Lance tells them. "I'll get them to handle all the arrangements as a favor to me. But until then I expect you guys here every day. You're representing me and my school when you go down there."

JJ nods, "We'll do our best to make you proud Lance!"

Their trainer smiles, "I know you two won't let me down. Now get out of here. I have work to do."

The girls scamper from the office and across the gym floor to the women's locker room.

"Holy shit," Ravyn breathes, stunned. "Can you believe this?!"

"I want to scream right now. That really just happened right?! I'm not delusional, still frozen in a van on a death tour?" JJ questions her sanity. "We're actually going to Florida in two weeks to try out for the WW fucking E!?"

Unable to formulate a sentence Ravyn just grabs her best friends arms and the girls jump around squealing like maniacs.

Weeks go by after their tryout and the girls hear nothing from the company now being called NXT. After a month passes the girls start to get discouraged. They hope every day that the call will come. Eventually though, they give up on waiting and get back to the grind of working menial day jobs, training at Lance's and working as many independent bookings as they can. Just when they least expect it Lance calls them on the road to let them know that they're expected to report to NXT in just two months. He helps them find an apartment close to the Performance Center in Orlando and finds them some boxes for them to pack their embarrassingly minuscule amount of belongings.

Their cross country road trip feels a lot more like they're driving across the world. They manage to complete the twenty eight hundred mile drive in just under five days. They arrive at their new apartment on a Saturday morning, giving them enough time to move their most important things inside. They make an afternoon of buying some furniture on Craigslist and paying extra for people to deliver it to the tiny one bedroom home. JJ claims the couch while Ravyn takes the bedroom, just like they had done in Calgary.

When Monday rolls around the girls report for their first official day at the WWE Performance Center. Sara Amato, one of the head trainers, shows them to the women's locker room. There they find two lockers, side by side, with their names written on strips of masking tape. The 2 best friends get changed and meet up with the rest of their class in the main room of the Performance Center. There they get their first real look at the enormous building. Three different rings, a weight training area, cardio machines, a faux entrance ramp and a handful of doors on two separate floors leave the girls breathless. Ravyn reaches over and gently closes JJ's jaw for her.

"Come on ladies, let's get started," head trainer Matt Bloom's voice bellows from the far side of one of the rings.

Other students seem to come out of the woodwork to join the class. Ravyn and JJ follow suit as the rest of the class surrounds the ring closest to them. Matt runs them through a warmup on the floor before calling everyone up into the ring where he starts with some drills. For once the girls have other women to work with though the class has both men and women in it.

Much like their official training with Lance, training with NXT has them in the ring multiple times a day. Most of their sessions are with the same group of trainees but a random few seem to come and go. They get to know their new coworker's as time passes.

After a few months of rigorous daily training the girls get a pep-talk from one of Lance's former students, and one of NXT's rising stars, Tyler Breeze. They immediately bond with the pretty blonde Canadian over their time at Storm Wrestling Academy. He teaches them some of the small things they can do to really finesse and build their characters for the NXT brand. Soon the three of them are hanging out and building a great friendship. The two Canadians have adopted JJ as one of their own after her time in the North. Tyler ends up inviting the girls to an NXT taping the following week.

Giddy for the opportunity the girls show up to Full Sail University well before the show goes live with their gear in hand. They quietly watch and learn from every moment of their time at the event. From observing the production crew buzz about to seeing their friends and coworker's perform in front of almost one thousand fans. Their first real view of a "big time" production grants them a plethora of new knowledge. Any they're. Eager to apply what they've learned first hand to what they've been working on at the Performance Center. Before long their hard work pays off. Matt Bloom tells them to prepare for their first NXT taping just a few weeks later.

Ravyn and JJ sit nervously in the women's locker room at Full Sail before their first event. They had warmed up in the ring earlier in the day and now we're just killing time before the fans swarmed the bleachers. Ravyn laces up her second boot as JJ fiddles with the drawstring of her tights.

"Well, at least we get to work each other," Ravyn tries not to let her anxiety show.

"Right," JJ tucks the string into her waistband. "Doesn't make this any less nerve wracking."

Ravyn giggles, "I know. Maybe we can just pretend it's a death tour and there will only be forty people here."

"Ha!" JJ chuckles. "It's about a thousand degrees and I can hear the crowd filing in."

"Oh you two will be fine," NXT veteran Paige tells them in her British accent. "You're more than ready for this. Just go out and have fun."

The two best friends exchange a look that says they'll do just that. They finish adjusting their gear and weave through the halls to gorilla position where Triple H gives them their final instructions before they begin their first performance as NXT superstars.


	3. Chapter 3

After a year and a half in the NXT system Ravyn has developed a heel character that fits her personality perfectly. She has the pleasure of feuding with Becky, Charlotte, Emma, Bayley and JJ. Her friendship with Tyler Breeze has flourished and the two of them hang out frequently at the apartment. Mostly playing video games or watching wrestling with JJ. The three of them do almost everything together, including travel to NXT shows. Though a chartered bus bring them from city to city they usually carpool to the Performance Center where they meet the bus.

"Aww come on!" Ravyn groans as Tyler slips into the seat next to JJ on their motor coach for the next loop.

Tyler grins having won the seat game, "Shouldn't have gone back to fill up your water bottle."

Ravyn grumbles to herself and continues down the aisle of the mostly full bus. She eventually scoots herself into a window seat near the back. The bus slowly fills up around her, but the neighboring seat remains empty. The bus sits idly for a few more minutes until she sees William Regal walking towards them with Corey Graves. Regal shakes his hand and the handsome tattooed man climbs the steps of the almost full bus. She watches him scope out his possibilities, careful not to let him know that she's looking. He's met with row after row of occupied seats. Bypassing an empty seat next to his friend Baron Corbin he continues down the aisle towards her row.

Her eyes dart across the aisle to an empty seat next to Seth Rollins who's got his eyes closed, ear buds in and leaning against the window. She tries to assure herself that Corey is going to sit with Seth, but she diverts her eyes as she feels her heart start to pound. They'd been working together off and on in NXT for the last eighteen months. Though they had never really spent any time alone she had developed a crush on the grungy, tattooed punk rocker. His cocky cool demeanor attracted her like a moth to a flame. A secret she kept even from her best friends.

With smoldering sexy eyes and a smirk that makes her heart skip a beat Corey speaks to her, "Is this seat taken?"

Unable to muster any actual words and shakes her head, pulling her backpack onto her lap from the empty seat. He sinks into the soft chair next to her, the delicious smell of his aftershave tickling her nostrils. She's absolutely positive that he can hear her heart pounding against her ribcage. She breathes an inaudible sigh of relief as the bus rumbles to life. Pulling her headphones from the front pocket of her bag she lets it slip to the floor between her feet. One earbud popped into each ear she pushes the plug into her phone and puts her playlist on shuffle.

Almost a quarter of the way into their four hour drive Corey taps her on the arm, "Whatcha listening to?"

Her heart races, pulling one of the tiny speakers from the closest ear she stammers, "Th... The Misfits..."

"Graves or Danzig?" He smiles.

"Graves," she blushes a bit, knowing that the singer was the origin of his ring name.

He holds up his device with a black screen, "My iPod died, mind if we share?"

"Oh.. Sure," she pulls both of the earbuds into her hand and offers him one after wiping them off. She turns the music back on a few moments later.

Corey reaches his hand over her lap silently asking to see her MP3 player. "They say you can learn a lot about someone by looking through their playlists," he tells her as she hands over the device.

His thumb scrolls through the list of artists before coming back full circle to The Misfits. He chooses their most recent live album and hits play. By the third song they're leaned in close to each other humming along to the lyrics. The music plays for over an hour and then suddenly there's silence between them as the last song ends.

"What are you doing after the show tonight?" He asks her quietly.

She shrugs, "Nothing?"

His commanding hazel eyes seem to shimmer in the dim light, "You should come out with us tonight."

"Who's us?" She smiles naively.

A killer grin curls his lips giving her butterflies, "Me, Corbin and Rollins always hit this bar near the hotel we stay at in Tallahassee. It's a total dive, but it's a great time." She's quiet just long enough for him to encourage her further. "Drinks are super cheap... And the owner is a mark so he keeps the kitchen open late for us."

"Well, how could I say no to that?" She chuckles.

"You'll have fun, I promise," his smoldering gaze makes her stomach flip flop.

They spend the rest of the drive listening to Ravyn's iPod and talking about wrestling. When the bus comes to a stop outside the venue Ravyn practically floats past JJ and Tyler, still caught up in her conversation with Corey on the ride in. She grabs her gear bag and heads into the building following signs for the women's locker room. She sinks onto the cold bench grinning like a fool. She's snapped back to consciousness by JJ waving her hand in front of the dark haired girl's face.

"Earth to friend. Time to come back to reality," JJ looks at Ravyn cautiously.

"Wha? Uh..." Ravyn blinks sheepishly. "Hey."

"Soo... Spill it," JJ raises an eyebrow. "What happened to turn your feelingless soul into a puddle of goo?"

Ravyn blushes and looks down at her feet before telling JJ about the bus ride. "Well, first that jerk Tyler stole my seat... Then I ended up sitting next to Corey.. We talked a bunch. He invited me out with him, Corbin and Rollins later."

"Oh?" Cautiously intrigued JJ asks. "Where?"

"I guess there's a bar near our hotel that they go to after every show here," Ravyn explains what little she knows. "I'm sure they wouldn't mind if you wanted to come too!"

JJ shrugs, "I'll keep it in mind."

"Just come," Ravyn insists. "It'll be fun. And if it's weird we can just leave. It's like right across the street from the hotel."

"I guess we can give it a shot," the redhead relents, realizing her friend isn't going to drop it until she agrees.

"Awesome!" Ravyn's face lights up. "We can meet them after we get cleaned up after the show."

Ravyn gets up and almost glides across the room as she goes to check the card for the show. A few moments later she sadly informs her best friend that the redhead doesn't have a match. Ravyn begins pulling her gear out and getting dressed. Her mind wanders as she laces up her simple black patten leather boots. Before long the crowd can be heard filing into the small venue. Ravyn does her own makeup in the mirror above the row of sinks in the women's locker room, still in a haze thinking about going out with Corey later. One of the interns yells that they're going live in ten minutes. She catches JJ's eye in the mirror and gives her friend an encouraging smile. Knowing her match is on second Ravyn heads to gorilla to meet up with her opponent for the night, Bayley.

Hours later the girls cross the street from their hotel to the dive bar that Corey had invited Ravyn to. They step inside the dimly lit building to find a few locals milling around the front of the bar. Heads turn when they see the two women just strolling through the door, obviously not a common occurrence. Ravyn spots Corbin deep in the bowels of the building and leads her friend past the confused locals. Corey smiles when he sees the dark haired girl coming towards them. He slaps Seth on the shoulder when he sees JJ following Ravyn in, he turns his head to the inaugural NXT champion and says a few words that the girls are still too far off to hear. The three guys grin when the girls finally reach them.

"So you decided to come after all," Corey's eyes exude sexy confidence.

Ravyn shrugs coyly, "Figured you guys could use some company."

"Corbin," Corey snaps his fingers. "Get these ladies a drink."

As though he were a well trained dog, Baron Corbin strides down the narrow corridor of the building back to the bar while the rest of them chat. He returns a few minutes later with a round of drinks for everyone. Five glasses clink together and raise to five sets of lips. Not long into the night Seth takes JJ aside to teach her how to play pool. Ravyn hops up on a barstool at the high top table where Corey and Corbin are leaning. The addition of the seat makes her almost as tall as the two men. The three of them talk music and wrestling as they continue to drink, Corey and Ravyn flirting with each other openly. By the time the fifth pint is placed in front of her Ravyn is well on her way to being completely wasted. The bar has filled up with patrons and the temperature is bordering on uncomfortably warm. She cups her hands around the cold glass trying to cool herself down.

"Fuck," she curses. "It's hot in here."

Corey's hand reaches out to touch hers. "You wanna go outside?" His thumb caresses her softly. "Come on, I think we both could use some fresh air."

She nods, "That's probably a good idea."

He takes her hand, sending chills coursing through her body, and leads her through the side door of the busy bar. A few people are hanging around the entrance smoking cigarettes. Corey continues past them, bringing Ravyn to the back corner of the building away from the smoke. From the dirty, barely lit bar outside to the dark alley way lit only by distant street lights Ravyn actually begins to feel better.

"There we go," Corey guides her to a bench leaned up against the wall of the building. He sinks down next to her.

"Thanks," her pale cheeks flush with embarrassment. "I'm already starting to feel better."

He reaches up and brushes a piece of fallen hair back behind her ear," You sure?" She nods, assuring him that she's okay. "Do you want to go back in?"

"Nah, we can stay out here for a little bit," she tells him with a slight slur.

"I was hoping you'd say that," he admits.

His eyes seek hers out, making her blush even more. Moments later he leans in. Their lips brush together in a delicate first kiss. Enjoying the moment Ravyn sneaks a hand up behind his neck, encouraging him to kiss her again. And he does. The two of them get lost in each other, completely oblivious to their surroundings. Their tongues dance back and forth exploring each other. They lose track of time and before they know it they can hear someone holler 'Last call!' from inside.

Ravyn checks her phone to see that it's almost three in the morning, " Shit, it got late really fast. I've gotta find J."

Corey takes her back inside and walks through the building with her looking for their friends. They give the bar a thorough search before accepting that everyone had gone back to the hotel.

"Ugh, J is gonna be mad when I stumble in in a few minutes," Ravyn half slurs.

"Come back to my room then," Corey offers with a grin. "You wouldn't want to wake her up. She's sleeping."

"I can't decide if that would make her more of less upset," she giggles drunkly.

"Only one way to find out," Corey smiles mischievously.

It doesn't take much more convincing before Ravyn and Corey are headed back to his room, stopping every couple hundred feet to lock their lips back together. Flinging each other against the walls of the elevator and hallways until they're outside of Corey's room. He slips an arm around her waist, pulling her body closer to his as his other hand opens the door. Their bodies stumble through the doorway and into the dark room. He leads her to the first bed in the plain hotel room. Soon they're between the sheets giggling and making out.

"Would you two shut up?" A grumpy Baron Corbin grumbles from the other bed.

Corey snickers and flings a pillow at his friend. Moments later another pillow returns, sailing through the air back at them. Ravyn and Corey do their best to stifle their giggles. They instead occupy themselves with each other. Layers of clothing get removed and tossed aside letting their hands explore each other's bare flesh. Though with Corbin in the room Ravyn doesn't let their fooling around go any farther than that. Before long the three of them are asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Ravyn awakens to the sound of the shower running and an empty spot in the bed beside her. She hears Corbin stir in the other bed a few feet away. He fumbles loudly with something on the bedside stable and slowly rises from the covers. Ravyn rolls over to see him shuffling across the floor to where his bag is. She pulls the blankets up around her snugly when she remembers that she's lost most of her clothing to the surrounding floor. Corbin bends down and picks something up with a smirk. Turning back to look at Ravyn he twirls her black satin bra around on his finger.

With newfound arrogance he tells her, "You can have it back. But it'll cost ya."

"Funny," she retorts dryly. "Give me my bra."

"You didn't ask nicely," he taunts.

With an exasperated sigh she feigns, "...please."

"Nah, I think I'll keep it," he pops a piece of chewing gum into his mouth and smirks.

"Whatever, just keep it if you're that desperate," she rolls her eyes and yanks the bed sheet up high enough to keep her chest covered as she leans over the edge of the bed to grab her t-shirt.

Years of getting dressed in tiny locker rooms with men has given her the ability to get changed while exposing nothing. Much to Corbin's dismay. She tugs the rest of her clothes on as the water comes to a stop in the bathroom. Picking up her phone from the nightstand she swings her legs off the side of the bed and searches for her shoes. The black combat boots are in a pile at the foot of the bed. She picks them up and slings them over her shoulder, not ready for the commitment of tying them. The door to the bathroom opens, steam pouring out into the air conditioned room. With just a towel around his waist Corey steps into the tiny foyer between the bathroom and the door to the hotel hall.

"Leavin?" He asks, his messy wet hair dripping onto his chest.

Taken aback by how perfect he looks at that very moment Ravyn stammers, "I... I've gotta find J. Make sure she got back okay."

Corey nods, as if that answer suffices. He draws her close to him, snaking an arm around her waist and pulling their bodies together. He leans down and kisses her. "See you on the bus in a few," he almost whispers.

She nods with a smile then exits the room quickly, not wanting him to see her blush even more. Checking her pockets for her room key she takes the stairs one floor up to find JJ packing her bag.

"Hey," Ravyn says quietly as she slips into the door. The redhead continues to pack silently. "What time did you come back last night?"

"Early," JJ snips.

Finally realizing that her friend isn't happy with her Ravyn apologizes, "I'm sorry. I should have called you. I didn't want to wake you up at three a.m. coming back in."

"I don't care what you do with your time," JJ huffs. "I just would have liked to be told that you were leaving last night instead of just abandoning me."

"Aband...? What?" Ravyn scrambles, perplexed. "We were there until last call. We looked for you guys, but you'd already left."

"You disappeared," JJ insists. "I looked all over that damn bar for you."

"I mean, we stepped outside for a bit," Ravyn recalls. "I needed some air after drinking so much... But we were there the whole time. I'm sorry friend."

JJ sighs, "A text would have been nice at least. We don't know much about Corey. He could be a total creep."

"Corey is nice, under that tough as nails exterior," the dopey grin returns to Ravyn's face. "Corbin is a total creep though, for sure."

"Yeah, that one I could see a mile away," the redhead states.

"He's the worst... So you and Seth huh?" Ravyn raises an eyebrow. "Don't think that I didn't see you two playing pool."

JJ shrugs, "I don't know. He was nice enough, but I sort of think he felt stuck with me after you two went off."

"Aww don't say that J," the Canadian sympathizes. "Maybe he's just awkward. He's cute though."

"Well, there's no denying that," JJ admits with a smirk.

Ravyn quickly packs up her bag and follows JJ down to the tour bus. They clamber up the steps after stowing their suitcases in the luggage compartment below the bus. It isn't long before the two of them are chatting and joking like old times. Ravyn winks at Corey when he walks past them down the aisle towards the back of the coach. Tyler and Xavier Woods claim the seats behind the girls so the four of them can play games on the almost 6 hour drive.

New Orleans hosts the next stop on the loop. Ravyn has a match against Emma while JJ gets to work against Sasha for the night. Ravyn catches herself watching Corey's match against Neville after coming back through gorilla. The former tag champions had broken up a week or so earlier and had been working together on every show. Peeking through the curtain she watches Corey pick up the win over the Brit with his submission, Lucky 13. After a quick celebration in the ring he walks back up the ramp and into gorilla position. Ravyn catches his eye as he shakes William Regal's hand and walks towards the locker rooms. His arm wraps around her shoulders as he invites her to walk with him.

"So you up for a little more partying tonight?" He asks.

She smiles, glad he still wants to hang out with her, "I could be convinced. Though his hangover doesn't want me to."

He chuckles, "Nothing a little more alcohol won't cure I'm sure."

"What have you got in mind?" She questions against her better judgement.

"There's a club downtown. Off of Bourbon Street," he begins. "It's a vampire bar. Great music. A real alternative crowd. Our kind fit right in there."

Ravyn nods, "That actually sounds pretty cool. What's it called?"

"Bite," a sultry sexy smile flashes across his face.

"Hmm, I could get into that," she flirts.

"Maybe later we can test that out," he turns to face her as they reach the women's locker room. "I'll meet you half an hour after we get back to the hotel."

She blushes as he plants a gentle kiss on her cheek and walks away. Elated, she heads inside and takes a shower while the last few matches of the show finish up. She has just enough time to finish her hair and makeup before the bus takes them back to the hotel.

JJ watches anxiously as Ravyn puts some finishing touches on her makeup. "Where are you going?" The redhead asks carefully.

Without looking at her friend Ravyn rummages through her bag trying to find the perfect skirt to match her black corset top. "Bite. It's a goth club downtown. Corey invited me."

"Again?" JJ worries. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

Ravyn shrugs, "Yeah, why not?"

"Just worried about you overdoing it," The redhead says logically. "We ARE here working..."

"All work and no play makes Ravyn a dull girl," the dark haired girl smirks. "I'd totally invite you, but Corey said you wouldn't like the atmosphere."

"Oh.." JJ looks at her friend dejectedly.

Oblivious to her friends disappointment Ravyn advises, "Don't wait up tonight. I'm probably going to crash in his room.. We're gonna be out late."

"Like I have anything else to do," JJ grumbles almost inaudibly.

Ravyn grabs her purse and opens the door to the hallway, "You should see what Seth is up to!"

The dark haired women lets the door click shut behind her and heads down the hall to where she sees Corey waiting near the elevator. She struggles to catch her breath after gasping at the sight of him. Her platform boots make her significantly taller than usual, leaving her almost eye level with the tattooed wrestler. He smacks the elevator button and turns back to wrap his arm around her waist. He leans in for a quick kiss just as the elevator dings, announcing its arrival. His hand takes ahold of hers as he leads her into the empty lift.

They're both quiet, each one taking the time to admire the other. Her black hair boasts highlights of both purple and teal that shimmer under the bright lights of the enclosed space. Her makeup is dark. Shades of black and grey smoke out her eyes making her blood red lipstick pop. The top two buttons of his wine colored shirt are unbuttoned, revealing just a peek of his neck tattoo. Black jeans, a studded belt and Dr. Marten boots complete his outfit. She catches a glimpse of herself in the mirrored wall of the elevator and checks her own clothes for what feels like the thousandth time. The black patterned satin corset top hugs her curves while the short red plaid skirt flows loosely around her thighs. A metal studded belt pulls the look together.

Moments later the doors open and the duo breeze through the lobby to an awaiting taxi. The streets of New Orleans are busy on a Friday night. Full of tourists and locals alike. Their driver avoids the most densely populated streets to bring them to their destination. Bite, located deep in the French Quarter on a block surrounded by voodoo and magic shops. The sign hanging above the door has the word "Bite" in flashing red neon between a set of white vampire fangs. Corey leads Ravyn through the doorway of the barely even lit club.


End file.
